Ohio jobless rate rises to 7.2 percent

Ohio’s unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent in June with a loss of 12,500 jobs — the second largest of any state that month — after the rate had remained at 7 percent for the previous two months.

June’s seasonally adjusted rate is the highest since August. The number of unemployed workers in Ohio in June was almost 413,000, up by about 8,000 compared with May.

Data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor shows that nationwide, unemployment rates increased in 28 states in June, partly because more Americans began searching for work and not all of them got jobs. The government doesn’t count people as unemployed unless they are actively looking for work.

Tech slump holds back US stocks

NEW YORK

A bad day for technology stocks Friday slowed a recent surge in the stock market.

Microsoft led the slump in tech, falling the most in more than four years after the company wrote off nearly $1 billion on its new tablet computer and reported declining revenue for its Windows operating system. Google dropped after its revenue fell below analysts’ forecasts, partly because the Internet search leader’s ad prices took an unexpected turn lower.

With tech stocks falling, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index eked out a gain of 2.72 points to an all-time high of 1,692.09. The S&P 500 has rebounded after a decline last month and is up 5.3 percent in July.

From wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Aqua America, .76, 33.26 .40

Avalon Holdings,3.55.00

Clear Channel, .61 29.27 .17

Cortland Bancorp, 10.06—.15

Farmers Nat., .126.45 .03

First Energy, 2.20, 38.91—.18

FirstMerit Corp., .64,21.53 .15

First Niles Financial, .32,8.49.00

First Place Fin., .0023.00

FNB Corp., .48,13.00.03

General Motors,36.63—.21

General Electric, .76,24.721.09

Motors Liquidation, .0422.00

Huntington Bank, .20, 8.38—.02

JP Morgan Chase, 1.52,56.16—.21

Key Corp, .22,12.03.20

LaFarge, 15.49 .35

Macy’s, 1.00, 49.02—.185

Parker Hannifin, 1.80, 103.102.05

PNC, 1.76,77.201.29

RTI Intl. Metals,30.21.02

Simon Prop. Grp.,4.60,164.96.24

Stoneridge 12.52 .0149

United Community Fin. 4.93.04

Selected prices at 4 p.m. Friday. Provided by Stifel Nicolaus. Not to be construed as an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security.